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african peanut chickpeas

West African Chickpeas

These warming, flavorful, tender chickpeas are coated in spiced, peanut flavor – a hint of tomato, ginger and lime. Serve alongside sticky rice for a fast and flavorful meal.
Prep Time7 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Kathy Patalsky

Equipment

  • skillet

Ingredients

Start with:

  • 14 oz can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Sauce:

  • cup peanut butter soft and oily
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
  • 3 tablespoon maple syrup
  • cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • a few pinches of smoky paprika
  • pinch of cayenne
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Also:

  • 1 cup baby spinach chopped
  • chopped peanuts
  • fluffy rice or quinoa to serve

Instructions

  • Prepare your rice. You can use any variety. Quinoa works too. You can even use pre-cooked rice in frozen bags for super quick meal prep. cook and set aside to stay warm.
  • Add to blender or food processor: peanut butter, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, maple, water, lime and a starting amount of the paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Blend from low to high and back to low again for a few minutes – until nice and smooth. Do a small taste test and adjust the heat and salt to your tastes. Note: the flavor WILL condense and evolve after you cook the sauce.. Set blender aside.
  • Warm a large skillet over high heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil. Then add the drained and rinsed chickpeas. Toss in the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, to lightly toast the edges and remove any excess moisture.
  • Turn the skillet heat to low (or off if your skillet is really hot.) Then slowly pour the peanut sauce over the chickpeas. NOTE: I only used about ¾ of my sauce. You can use it all or sauce any excess for another meal. Toss the chickpeas in the sauce. Don’t worry if some of the sauce clumps a bit, it doesn’t ruin the flavor – you just do not want too many clumps. Clumps mean that your skillet is still too hot. You just want a silky, thickened sauce draping your chickpeas.
  • Fold the spinach into the chickpeas.
  • To serve: Add the rice and chickpeas to a bowl. Top with chopped peanuts, lime wedge garnish is optional. Optional hot sauce or sriracha on top is nice if you want more heat.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 372kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 585mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 852IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4mg